Which Colleges Superscore the SAT?

There’s no doubt that SAT scores continue to be an important part of your college application. College admissions officers use SAT scores to get an idea of what your academic ability is and to make sure that you are prepared for the rigor of college courses. However, many colleges realize that your performance on the SAT may not reflect your true academic ability.

To balance out the unrepresentative nature of using a single test score, some colleges use superscoring to get a better picture of your ability. Here’s how to use superscoring to your advantage in college applications.

What is Superscoring?

Superscoring is a catch-all term for whenever colleges take the best section or test scores from multiple sittings for the SAT. This gives you a higher score that you might have possibly earned if you were performing at your peak on all test sections.

Here’s an example:

If you take the SAT twice, and the first time you got a 650 on the SAT Math and 720 on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW), and the second time you got a 680 on Math and 690 on EBRW, colleges who superscore will use the 680 Math score and 720 EBRW score to create a new higher score.

Why Do Colleges Superscore?

Why do colleges superscore? Colleges know that how you do on one test is not a perfect indicator of your academic ability. Many factors impact your test performance, like how much preparation you did, how well you slept and ate in the days leading up to your test, or dealing with personal issues that distract you from focusing on the test. Even if you tested under ideal conditions, measuring your performance from one day isn’t representative of how well you could do.

Colleges also know that many students take the SAT at least twice in preparation for college applications. While most students will score within the same range overall, they often have one section score that goes up the second time around.

It can also help colleges maintain a level of prestige. When they superscore, they are able to report higher test score averages overall across all of the admitted students, rather than focusing on what was achieved by a single test sitting.

If a college doesn’t superscore, they usually look at the highest single test sitting if they receive multiple score reports for the same student. For example, let’s say you took the test twice and the first time you got a 700 Math score and 640 EBRW score, and the second time you got a 730 Math score and 630 EBRW score. Schools that don’t superscore would use the second score because the total score is higher.

Why Does Superscoring Matter?

You may be wondering why superscoring matters. It’s true that for many students, they tend to have SAT scores in the same range, and the difference between their highest single sitting score and their superscore may not be that much.

However, if you have an effective study plan and strategically improve your score, you may be able to make a huge difference between your single sitting and superscore. This is especially true if your first scores were lopsided, where one score was much higher than the other.

For example, your first scores were 800 on Math and 600 on EBRW. By putting in the effort, you improve your EBRW score to be 700, but your math score also drops to around 720. Your superscore would be 1500 but your highest single sitting would be 1420, which is a pretty significant difference in score.

It also matters if you plan on applying to colleges early and want to avoid being deferred. Many students who are deferred are deferred because they are a borderline applicant, but having a stronger test score can edge you towards being a stronger applicant. You can learn more about applying early in our post Does Applying Early Decision Increase My Chances?

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Popular Colleges that Superscore the SAT

Many of the top schools superscore. We’ve included a few of them here for you, as well as a link to their admissions site to get you started on your college research. If you see other schools using similar language, you can bet that they superscore too!

School Name

Official Statement

Admissions Site

Boston College

“If you submit multiple scores, we will superscore the tests for our evaluation.”

“We strongly recommend that you report all of your available standardized test scores because the Admissions Committee will be certain to review the strongest score in each category, across all of the exam(s) you’ve taken.”

“If an applicant takes the SAT more than once, the admissions committees will consider the highest critical reading score and the highest math score from multiple test sessions when reviewing the application.”

“For students taking the SAT, we will simply add together your highest scores in the (1) Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and (2) Math categories to make a higher total score. This is the only area in which we create a “superscore” for applicants.”

“We superscore test scores, meaning that only your best testing results—your highest sub-scores and the best result of the two testing options, if you’ve taken both the SAT and ACT— will be considered in the review of your application.”

“For the SAT (pre-March 2015) SAT scores will only be superscored with other pre-March 2015 SAT results. Current SAT scores (March 2015 onwards) will only be superscored with current SAT test results.”

“It has been the Office of Admission’s long-standing policy to consider the best test scores submitted by applicants. We use the top score from each section across all administrations of the same exam.”

Tips for Applying to Schools that Superscore

Although you may think that applying to a school that superscores might be easier than one that isn’t, remember that many of these schools are competitive and will require more than just a strong test score to get in.

1. Review the average SAT score reports from the previous application year.

While this may be a superscored average, it will give you a good idea of what kind of score you should earn when you take the SAT yourself.

2. Pay attention to the application requirements and take them seriously.

Some schools require a combination of essays, letters of recommendation, and other forms of information. If they are asking for that information, it’s because they read it and take it seriously when deciding to admit you, so you want to make sure you do your best on every part of your application.

3. Take the SAT in your junior year.

To avoid preparing for the SAT while you work on your college applications during senior year (and stressing you out more than you need to), we recommend you take the test once in the fall and again in the spring of your junior year. If not, taking the test at least once in the spring of your junior year will give you an idea how much additional preparation you want to do before taking the test early in senior year.

Wrapping it Up: How to Use This List

We recommend that you use this list to jumpstart your college research process and begin planning for application cycles. Review the average scores, deadlines, and any other components so you can start your senior year with a game plan.

Even with superscoring, you want to prepare for the SAT and do well each time you take the test. After all, you will always want the highest score possible each time you take the test to make sure that your application is as strong as possible, and you can qualify for scholarships based on your SAT score.

When students work with our expert tutors, they see an average 250 point increase in their overall SAT score. Find out if our SAT program is right for you!

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Gianna Cifredo is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she majored in Philosophy. She has six years of higher education and test prep experience, and now works as a freelance writer specializing in education. She currently lives in Orlando, Florida and is a proud cat mom.